Food and Art and things that make my Heart go YAY!

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Apples, Raisins and Salted Honey Pistachio Cupcakes

It’s always lovely catching up with old friends… especially when more than a decade has elapsed since the time you last met and you know that that won’t matter at all when you finally do.

That time while seemingly at a standstill in some ways, may have galloped along in so many others. But where growth and change embraces familiarity with such ease, that it’s comforting.

So naturally I wanted to carry something special when I went across to meet my old friend, and what better I thought, than a batch of home baked cupcakes. The only problem was I didn’t have the time to go out shopping for ingredients and though I had the basics I didn’t know what else I would find in my pantry.

What I did find were raisins, a few apples and a couple of jars full of pistachios, walnuts and almonds. And here they are…my Apple, Raisins and Salted Honey Pistachio Cupcakes.

These cupcakes were made in a flash, once the raisins were halved and stewed in a heady mix of rum, cinnamon and cloves.

The grated apples, added halfway through the stewing process, broke down the apples just enough to infuse them with the spiced rum and raisins, till it all came together into a richly flavoured deep golden melange…

The pistachios drizzled with honey, sprinkled with rock salt and roasted at 180 degrees C… sat alongside the raisin and apple mix… cooling down until it was time.

And then butter, sugar and eggs creamed together with a pinch of salt and some vanilla extract, met with the fruit mix, the flour and the nuts… and the batter found its way into star shaped muffin moulds….

Baked at 180 degrees C for approx 25 – 30 minutes… cooled, flipped over… just for the joy of it (I thought they looked prettier bottom side up)…

I had some frosting sitting in my freezer so I splashed in some rum, to get it up and going and then poured the frosting over the cakes, letting it rum… oops run over the sides…

And my friend lovedthem…

So a silent prayer of thanksgiving goes out to the heavens for friends, for the purity of friendships and for love that transcends time and age.

And for…

all things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful